Nepal aims to increase electricity export to India to 10,000 MW :Prachanda
Energy
5 min read
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" on 18th August 2023 announced that his government plans to increase the export of electricity from Nepal to India from 450 MW to 10,000 MW in the next 10 years.
While addressing the 38th anniversary of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Prachanda said that during his visit to India in July 2023, both the countries agreed to a” long-term power trade cooperation under which India has set a target of importing 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal within the next 10 years.”
Referring to the power transmission project where the electricity produced in Nepal is to be evacuated to India,he said that 400 KV Butawal- Gorakhpur transmission line is being completed on a priority basis .
He said that Nepal is transforming in the sector of hydropower and it will further create a conducive environment for attracting foreign investment.
Currently Nepal generates about 2,000 megawatts, or less than 5% of its total hydroelectric potential, due to a lack of funds, technical know-how and the absence of political consensus on how to develop the resource.
Potential for Hydro power sector development in Nepal:
Nepal has been blessed with enormous water resources . It has approximately 6,000 rivers with a total length of 45,000 kilometers . The major river basins of Nepal are Sapta Koshi, Karnali, Sapta Gandaki, Mahakali etc.
Average water runoff from these rivers is about 220 billion cubic meters annually. According to an Asian Development Bank’s report Nepal has the potential to develop 42 gigawatts of economically viable hydropower. It can export these powers to India, Bangladesh and China.
India Nepal Electricity Deal:
India and Nepal signed an electricity buying agreement in 2014 but India changed its policy in 2018. Under the new policy India decided not to buy power produced by projects in which investments were made by countries that did not have a “bilateral agreement on power sector cooperation” with India. The Indian government policy change was mainly directed at Chinese-funded projects in Nepal.
Recent Indian investment in Nepal’s Hydel Power sector:
Indian public sector company Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) is developing three hydroelectric projects on Arun river . It is developing 900 MW Arun-III , 695 MW Arun-IV and the recently signed 669-megawatt (MW) Lower Arun Hydropower project.
NHPC will develop West Seti (750 megawatts) and SR 6 (450 megawatts) projects on the Seti river . These projects were earlier to be developed by a Chinese company Three Gorges International Corp. However the Nepalese government cancelled the Chinese contract and entrusted it to NHPC.
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal:
It is a landlocked country in South Asia .
Currency of Nepal: Nepalese Rupees
Capital : Kathmandu
President : Ram Chandra Poudel
Prime Minister : Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda)
